Bahrain: Ex-al Wefaq MP allegedly linked to terrorist groups’ funding

Former Bahraini Member of Parliament Hassan Eisa Marzooq of the al Wefaq party has been accused of funding the terrorist group that carried out the bus bombing in Sitra which killed two policemen.

The accusation was announced by the country’s Terror Crime Prosecution Advocate General Ahmad Al Hammadi who only referred to him as a former lawmaker and a defendant.

The al Wefaq party has often been accused by authorities of wanting to destabilize the nation especially after the Shia party boycotted this year’s parliamentary elections calling for more political reforms.

Marzooq was arrested upon his return from a trip to Iran and Al Hammadi said investigations have revealed that he was engaged in collecting funds within Bahrain and overseas to finance several terror groups which include the group involved in the July 28 bombing in Sitra. Five members of the group had already been arrested and are helping in the investigations which al Hammadi claims have “revealed that they formed a terror group which plotted to target security forces and kill policemen” after studying the movements of security officers.

State news agency, Bahrain News Agency, quoted the Terror Crime Prosecution Advocate General explaining that the group “received the bomb through an Iran-based defendant and through some persons linked to him in Bahrain” while “one suspect had been trained in Iraq on making and using weapons and explosives” with the collaboration of other individuals.

Al Wefaq has not reacted to the claims made against Marzooq who is likely to be tried for funding terrorism and forming terror groups. The party’s close ties with Iran anger Bahrain which accuses Tehran of interfering in its domestic affairs although such claims have been refuted.